However, there have been many minor developments in the market over the past few years. Newer generations of low self-discharge batteries have been released. My favorite inexpensive battery chargers were discontinued. I’ve also heard a few questions asked repeatedly, the most important being, “When is it better to use Alkaline batteries instead of NiMH?”

This site has become a significant source of information about low self-discharge batteries and chargers, so it’s time for an update.

Brief Review

Before launching into updates, here’s a brief recap of my prior articles:

Most people would do well to use low self-discharge NiMH batteries in nearly all situations that require AA or AAA batteries. Eneloop is a trustworthy brand for this type of AA battery. For best battery performance, you’ll want a high quality battery charger from La Crosse or Maha.

In the rest of this post I won’t repeat previously covered material. If you want the reasoning behind the conclusions, read the two posts linked above.

Minor changes to Eneloop and its low self-discharge competitors

I like Eneloop quality, and therefore I like the Eneloop brand. Historically, most Eneloop competitors have competed on price, not quality. Eneloop’s claims about how much charge the battery holds have always tested true, as have other marketing claims they make, while the same is often not true of the competition.

The competition has improved, and there are now some worthy alternatives to Eneloop, though in many cases they are just re-branded Eneloops. Duracell and Amazon are two examples of brands that offer re-branded Eneloops. Despite the improved competition, I continue to stick with Eneloop or re-branded Eneloops as the overall lifetime cost of this type of battery is not so high.

The Eneloop battery product line has evolved from the first generation launched in late 2005. In my opinion, new parent company Panasonic has over-complicated the Eneloop line with too many versions and too many generations of minor changes. To keep it simple, I’ll recommend just two versions for AA batteries (and the same two for AAA), and one charger/battery combo. I’ll also include the lowest cost, quality alternative I’m aware of in each category.

Eneloop is still the name for the basic version, which has gone through 4 generations. Each generation has increased the number of times the battery can be recharged and improved the rate of self-discharge, though most of the improvement occurred in the 2nd generation in 2010. First generation Eneloops are still fine batteries—the only reason to consider disposing of such batteries is if they no longer hold much charge. With typical use, this won’t occur for decades.

The number of lifetime recharges increased from 1000 to 1500 with the 2nd generation, and the rate of self-discharge improved. Subsequent improvements have been minor, with maximum recharges now at 2100. There’s no advantage to prior generations, so when purchasing additional Eneloops, go for 4th generation versions.

The above batteries are fine for most ordinary applications but in high drain devices such as cameras, you can run through batteries very quickly. In such cases you’ll want higher capacity batteries (typically 2550 mAh for AA batteries, a 550 mAh increase over the regular Eneloops). However, they cost more and only last for 500 recharges. They are also slightly fatter, so they may not fit easily or at all in some devices.

Eneloop called its first version of high capacity battery “XX” when it came out May 2012, but the 2nd generation released in 2013 is now called Panasonic Eneloop Pro.

Package Deals

It’s great to see that Eneloop has finally come out with a 10AA/4AAA package that includes a high quality charger (a first). This would make a nice gift for parents of toddlers, who will easily use this many batteries over the next few years:

An inexpensive charger that does the job

There are literally hundreds of chargers on the market, including some which are bundled with batteries. However, very few are worth purchasing. My intention was to list 3 quality, inexpensive chargers in this section but my prior favorites were all discontinued. There is currently only one low cost model I recommend:

This Panasonic Eneloop charger (which I discuss in great detail in Best Low Cost AA Battery Charger) is the same one included in the combination package at the end of the prior section. It’s simple. It’s low cost (usually $14.99). It has four battery bays. Individual LEDs indicate when an individual battery is fully charged. Most importantly, it has the minimum needed “smart charger” features to be good: proper circuitry to detect when a battery is fully charged, and independent channels for each charging bay.

The vast majority of inexpensive models charge in pairs. When one battery is full, they both stop charging. This results in partial charging of every other battery. Use one of these cheapo models and you’ll notice your batteries don’t last so long. All it takes is the voltage from a single battery dropping below a certain threshold, and you’ll need to recharge the entire set from a device. The fault is with the paired bay charger, not the batteries.

So what’s the drawbacks to buying this inexpensive Panasonic model? It charges slowly, at an average rate of 300mA for AA, and 150mA for AAA. It takes over seven hours to charge fully depleted AA batteries. There is no option to charge faster. There are no options of any kind.

The next section covers 4 premium options which can charge at faster rates. These models also have many additional features and optional settings. You’ll want to consider these if you have a “need for speed”, have over a dozen AA or AAA batteries, or you simply like to own the best. Any of the premium chargers can be used as simply as the Panasonic charger—just pop them in and remove when fully charged. But they can also do more.

4 Premium Battery Chargers

The two most well known brands among premium chargers are La Crosse and Maha. I have personally tested two La Crosse models but none from Maha or newcomer Opus. My knowledge from these other models comes from extensive reading. I’ll briefly summarize what I know here. For more information on what makes for a great charger, especially La Crosse, see prior charger post.

Premium chargers offer a few advantages over the simple charger I discussed above: testing, conditioning(refresh), big displays, and selecting different charge rates per battery bay.

There are differences among these 4 models, including maximum charge rates, reviving heavily depleted batteries, and ease of use. I prefer La Crosse for the ease of use, but for those who don’t mind extra button presses and a more cumbersome user interface, the Maha model is arguably better. Opus doesn’t have as much of a track record, but the Opus model I recommend may actually be best of breed.

The first and least expensive model I recommend is the La Crosse BC-700. It typically costs around $38-$42 and does pretty much everything the more expensive La Crosse models do except charge batteries at a rate higher than 700mA. It also does not come with any batteries or accessories beyond the charger and power supply.

To maximize battery life, it’s preferable to charge AA batteries at 500mA and AAA batteries at 200mA, though going over every once in a while by a little won’t have much of a negative impact. But this means that fully depleted batteries can take well over 5 hours to charge. If you sometimes need to charge batteries in a rush, or can’t find this model for less than $42, you’ll want to get one of the other three models.

There are several more expensive La Crosse models that offer higher maximum charging rates of 1800mA. These models also include a carrying case, adapters for C and D battery sizes, and low quality NiMH batteries (4 AA, 4 AAA), which are not included with the BC700. However, I can only recommend one of these three models, the BC1000.

I have been using a BC900 for 6 years and a BC1000 for 2 years. I cannot recommend either the BC-900 or the BC9009 La Crosse models because there have been many reports of overheating on both models, when charging at the highest rates. In extreme cases this can melt batteries, creating smoke or possibly even a fire.

The similarly-priced Maha MH-C9000 offers the same suite of capabilities plus a few extras—more flexibility, a little more control, slightly higher maximum charging rates, a larger size, and automatic revival of totally drained batteries. This last is particularly helpful, as the La Crosse models display a cryptic “null” message when heavily depleted batteries are inserted, and according to the manual that means the batteries are defective. Usually they are not, and can be revived, but doing so with the La Crosse charger is cumbersome. (I’ve found that a “null” battery will usually revive after a few days of resting in a plugged-in La Crosse charger.)

I personally have no interest in the Maha model because the extra control and flexibility require a more difficult-to-use interface, sometimes needing many more button presses than the La Crosse to do simple things such as increasing the charge rate for the 4 batteries you just inserted. Also, its display rotates through data over 48 seconds, while La Crosse chargers allow you to select which data you want to see. If you’re not bothered by the user interface and extra button presses, this charger is an excellent option.

Last, but definitely not least is the Opus BT-C2000. Opus seems to have overcome various issues with prior models with a 2014 firmware upgrade to version 2.1. If you do get this model, make sure you see the number “2.1” or higher briefly displayed on the leftmost column when turning it on.

This model has most of the advantages of the other three models combined into one package: It’s easy to use, offers great flexibility and control, and has a big display. As if that weren’t enough, the price has often dipped below $40 since August 2014. The only thing not to like is that the maximum charging rate of 1400mA is not quite as high as the La Crosse BC1000 or the Maha MH-C9000.

Concluding remarks (and when to use Alkaline)

If I sound very enthusiastic about low self-discharge batteries and quality chargers—it’s because I am. Unfortunately, the value proposition for Eneloops and decent chargers takes time to explain. For small purchases like this, most people won’t take much time to think about their decision. The result is that most people experience rechargeable AA batteries as an annoying hassle.

Once you do realize how good this type of battery is, the only question in your mind will be:

When would I ever want to use a disposable, Alkaline battery?

Answer: when you need higher voltage. Rechargeable NiMH batteries are approximately 1.2V when fully charged. Alkaline batteries provide over 1.5V when full and over 1.2V for a sizable fraction of their life (typically until they’re below 2/3 capacity, though some last longer).

Devices that require higher than 1.2V are annoying not just because you can’t use rechargeable batteries, but also because Alkaline batteries won’t last too long before the voltage output drops too low, even though they have enough charge left to power other devices. Most people don’t realize that and throw them out.

I recommend using Alkaline batteries in smoke detectors, because some require higher than 1.2V. How can you know if you have such a device?

Another case for using Alkaline is in devices that operate differently depending on battery type. For example, some flashlights shine brighter with fresh Alkaline batteries than they do with NiMH batteries.

The other question one might have is when to use high discharge NiMH batteries. The answer is never, thanks to the availability of high capacity, low-discharge NiMH batteries such as the Eneloop Pro.

Retailers rarely offer low self-discharge batteries for sale. The only store in which I’ve found such batteries is Costco. Why are these batteries so hard to find in physical stores?

I don’t really know. But if I had to guess, it’s for the same reason it’s much easier to find Teflon-coated pans than cast-iron skillets:

Eneloops don’t need to be purchased much. Once you buy them, they last decades. Not great for repeat sales, and therefore not great for retailers. But great for the rest of us.

Author: Joe Golton

I’m a dad with a son who loves baseball. Professionally, I’ve been a software developer, investor, controller, and logistics manager. I now make my living from this blog, supplemented with occasional consulting gigs.
View all posts by Joe Golton

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38 thoughts on “Best AA Batteries: 2015 update”

Re. batteries shown as ‘null’ in the LaCrosse BC700 (AKA Technoline BC700, or BL700 in the UK).

As you say, they may revive after a long time left in the charger. Or, if one is willing to risk a reduced number of charging cycles, a quick blast in a dumb fast charger will bring them to the point where the BC700 recognises them.

I’ve never had this happen with my Sony Eneloop equivalents, but it’s happened quite a few times with the old high self discharge batteries I still have – until they die & are replaced by LSDs.

You’re right, Paul. There are several ways to revive batteries that La Crosse labels as “null.” I just wrote the simplest. As you say, a quick blast in a dumb charger also works. There is also the “paperclip” trick of briefly shorting together two batteries in the charger so that charge flows from one to the other:

Unfortunately, I’ve experienced the “null” message with Eneloop batteries many times in my La Crosse charger, mostly due to my son’s Kidizoom camera which eats through batteries very fast even when it’s off. I just keep them in the charger for a long time and the trickle charge eventually revives them, usually in less than 24 hours. Sometimes it takes days.

Have you actually tested the new Chinese made Panasonic eneloops? Preliminary tests (based on 2 batteries only so a tiny sample) show that they don’t last anywhere near the number of recharges claimed by Panasonic.

Chas – Thanks for the question. To be honest, I hadn’t known some Eneloops were produced in China. All of the Eneloops I’ve acquired and tested have been from the Japan facility and have tested as expected. I live in the U.S. so all of my purchases have come from either Costco or an Amazon warehouse located in the U.S.

There’s no way I can personally know where these Chinese batteries are being shipped, but according to some discussion at Candlepower forums, certain markets in Oceania and Asia started getting the Chinese batteries around the middle of 2014, while production started months before that. I don’t know where they’re getting their information from but I’ll try to find more definitive sources on this. If you happen to know of a definitive source of information, I’d love to include a link to it in my post.

One person from Australia tested the Chinese-made batteries and posted to candlepower forums. They did not measure up to the Japan-made quality:

In December of 2009, Panasonic purchased Sanyo, including it’s Eneloop brand. To satisfy antitrust concerns surrounding the battery business, Panasonic was permitted to keep the Eneloop brand but forced to divest the factory in Takasaki, Japan that produced them. Rumor has it that Fujitsu is the new owner, which Fujitsu neither confirms nor denies. Assuming this is true, then it explains a few things:

All evidence suggests that Fujitsu produces very high quality low self-discharge batteries from the Takasaki factory for Eneloop, but also others. This is why there are some rebranded Eneloops on the market, including Duracells and Amazon Basic in the U.S. I bought one set of rebranded Duracells a few years ago and they did test identically to the Eneloops produced at that time.

However, no brand owns the factory. Brands can source their batteries from anywhere. Duracell, for example, sourced some from Japan and some from a much inferior factory in China. For that reason, I didn’t buy any more Duracells because I was never sure if I would get the good ones from Japan or the inferior ones from China.

Assuming all the discussion on Candlepower forums is accurate, Panasonic continued to source all Eneloops from the Takasaki factory through the end of 2013 but began to source some Eneloops from China in early 2014, and by mid 2014 they were showing up in some markets in Oceania and Asia. They appear identical in many ways. One way to tell them apart is that the claim for amount of charge remaining after 5 years of non-use is different. It is 65% for China sourced Eneloops. It is 70% for Japan sourced Eneloops.

All this is very disappointing to me as I’ve been recommending Eneloops for years because quality has been completely reliable, unlike some other brands which may source from China for some or all batteries. As of late 2014, I can still recommend them in U.S.A. and Europe.

When making recommendations for normal consumers, I want to say something simple, not “make sure the Eneloops you buy are produced in Japan by examining various packaging details.”

It is possible that the plant in China aspires to have quality as high as the Takasaki plant, and that the first batteries coming off the production line had quality issues. Perhaps quality has since been improving. I personally have no way of knowing – we’ll just have to see what people in the affected markets experience as these Chinese Eneloops make their way into the hands of consumers willing to test them.

Hi Joe.
I got on to eneloops about 2 years ago, and bought a few dozen (1,900mAH. Perhaps we are behind in what stock we get in Australia) in quick time when DSE had them at half price. Thoroughly impressed with them. I had purchased a heap of Sanyo HR-3U 2300mAH several years ago but have been disappointed with them, just not getting a reasonable charge out of them, or into them as the case may be. I have recently rigged up a discharge capacity tester using a DCM9040 and a 2Ohm load. I am going through them all slowly, getting wide and varied results. I will do them all at least 3 times to see if the capacity increases. I’m currently using a Rezap Pro for all my charging. Unfortunately I’m disappointed with this unit to. The 3rd channel has failed, and the company has not responded to 2 emails I have sent regarding the issue.

I would like to know your thoughts on sub C’s. I have a number (actually heaps) of 12v and 18v batteries for my Panasonic cordless drills. Considering how well they work, I can’t see the economics in buying a new Li-Ion kit. I am awaiting delivery of a spot welder and nickel strip to make my own, so I am researching batteries again. If only I could buy eneloop SC’s? Short of this, what is available that will give me best bang for buck? On eBay, cells seem to range from $2-3 for cheapies to $6 for Pana/Sayno, and $15 for GP in Aus (WOW, they would want to be good!), and locally $5 to $15.

Final note. I might order myself a Lacrosse 700 or 1000. And… Is there an off the shelf charger/tester that will take Sub C’s?

Thanks for your thoughts and questions, Wayne. All of my experience and experimentation is with AA and AAA batteries so I’m not the right person to ask about Sub C’s, unfortunately. From what tiny bit I know, sub C’s are not so standardized as AA and AAA batteries so therefore many require custom chargers (so as chargers that come bundled with a drill). So it might be that there does not exist a charger that can handle every possible type of Sub C battery. But honestly, I don’t really know.

Great, thorough articles about the types of batteries and chargers that are out there for various needs. I think I’m leaning more towards trying out an Opus charger, but wanted to ask if there are any differences between the different models that are currently available (BT-C700, BT-C2000, BT-C2400, BT-C3400)? I cannot seem to find much detailed/comparative information on them. Thanks in advance!

So far as I can tell, the differences are which accessories are included, and the age of the model. Accessories may include one or both of the following: wall adapter power supply, 12V car adapter.

Scroll down in Amazon to the Product Description and read carefully to see which accessories and which firmware version.

The most important thing when getting this charger is to get a version with firmware version 2.1 or higher, because units with older firmware versions had overheating issues. When you first get the charger, watch when it starts the first time to see the firmware version number (it is only shown briefly when it’s first plugged in). If it’s 2.1 or higher, you’re good.

Joe, are there any small, USB-powered (5Vdc) AA/AAA chargers you can recommend? On my bicycle, I have a dyno hub producing 6W that is then converted to a USB outlet and I’d like to be able to reliably recharge my Eneloops while away from the grid.

Hi–I really enjoyed reading your site.
I’ve been using the enloops on my AA powered audio recorder, but at a certain point, the recorder stops. I’m wondering if regular AAs would be better, since the recorder must sense the voltage drop, if if there is a rechargeable option that has a slow voltage drop. Also, would lithium disposable AAs give me the longest record times? Thanks.

Thanks for the detailed and extensive information, although there is one thing I’m trying to resolve and can’t find the right information’ so…..I’m appealing to anyone who can answer my question, I have SANYO XX 2500mA and just recently purchased Panasonic Pro 2450mA, my question is, can I mix these batteries in the one device and more importantly can I mix these batteries in a charger, I’m using the Maha 8 cell 1A per cell charger

You can mix any NiMH batteries of any size (including AA or AAA) on a charger with independent charging channels for each bay. I only recommend chargers with independent bays in all of my write-ups. All Maha chargers have independent charging channels for each bay, so you’re all set.

As it so happens, the two batteries you asked about are pretty much the same battery. Panasonic bought Sanyo and then rebranded the high capacity low self-discharge batteries from the XX to the Pro. So you can also use them in the same gadget and they will run out of stored energy at about the same time.

Thank you for the benefit of your extensive knowledge regarding battery technology!!!, I’ve trawled countless forums regarding this issue, with no resolve and will be advocating any associated web pages in my circles

A couple questions for you. Have you ever tested the Maha Imedions? Second, I would like to use these low-discharge rechargeable batteries in my trail cameras. Have you had any experience with this application?

CJ – I do not have experience with either. I’m under the impression that Maha’s low self-discharge batteries are pretty good. Any reviews on Amazon from NLee the Engineer are very good and should give you comfort if he is positive.

A few people have asked me recently about solar charging. Low self-discharge batteries work fine in digital cameras but when you’re on the trail you may need to charge them at some point. I haven’t found anything perfect for this but if I were to do some testing, the first two items I would buy would be the following:

Hi Joe,
I have two dozen Japan-made Eneloops but unfortunately failed to use many over time. Because of this hey no longer charge up using the small white 4 capacity charger that came with the costco pack originally. It has been 3-4 yrs. Is there a charger that can recover them, or am I better off buying new batteries instead? Thank you.

Hi Jed – I would need detailed information to be able to answer your question. However, one thing I can point out is that most chargers that came bundled with Eneloops over the years have not been all that great. The current one is very good, but given that you purchased your Costco pack over 3 years ago, you probably have one of the lower quality chargers. In the absence of complete information, I would lay odds on the scenario that the voltage on your batteries is so low that the charger can’t detect them. If that is the case, you could recover them with one of the better chargers out there (though doing it with a La Crosse would be more cumbersome than with the other chargers I recommend in this post). I actually appreciate your question as it’s the first time I’ve heard of Eneloops sitting around for many years and then being difficult to charge.

Jacob, $6 a battery is ludicrous (as of January 1, 2016 the exchange rate is $1 US to $1.38 AUS)! I don’t know what shipping to Australia would be from the US but Amazon.com sells the recommended Amazon Basics in packs of 16 for $27 US. 16 batteries at $6 each comes to $96 (about $70 US) so this option may be worth looking into! Unfortunately the Australian Amazon apparently does not sell batteries so that route isn’t an option for you.

Ralph – I agree that it’s not the world’s best kept secret but they aren’t actively advertising it either. I’m guessing they have some kind of agreement with Panasonic that lasts a certain number of years, that says something like:

Fujitsu may sell their own brand low self-discharge batteries but they may not advertise the fact that the best low self-discharge batteries in the world all come from the same factory in Takaski, Japan, owned by Fujitsu.

This is just speculation on my part – but if they are not bound by such an agreement, then they are leaving a lot on the table by not bragging about their cutting edge factory. Any bragging about that factory would be totally justified.

Ron – I haven’t tested any Evolta batteries, and I haven’t seen too much in the way of test results from others. The particular one you asked about isn’t available for purchase in the U.S., where I reside. Panasonic makes slightly different claims for the Evolta than they do for Eneloops, suggesting that they are produced in a different factory. That in and of itself makes me doubt that they are as high quality as Eneloops, because no factory to date has demonstratively produced higher quality than batteries from the plant in Takasaki, Japan, where most Eneloops are made.

So, I have no proof that they’re worse than Eneloop, but until shown otherwise, I am assuming they are inferior in some ways to batteries sourced from the Takasaki plant.

Hi
Enjoying reading about Low Self Discharge batteries and their recommended usage’s.
I am a member of a senior citizens SWL/Scanner Club that use both Rechargeable Alkaline and ENELOOP NIMH AA’s with AA to D Adapters. This to eliminate noisy AC adapter power modules, as well as outdoor portable use.
The radios are Sony ICF 2010, Radio Shack/Realistic DX 440 and Sangean ATS 803a.
We have a question about a Grundig Satelitt 700 World Receiver and it’s built in Battery Charger. The radio uses four batteries in series. The Radio is of the vintage that used NICAD’s.
The question is how would the Charger react to newer technologies, Rechargeable Alkaline and
NIMH/ENELOOP ?
We have put the question to Grundig Customer Service both in the UK & USA but as yet have not gotten a response.
One problem I see is with charging in series, one can never sort out a marginal cell.
73 VE7JJD

Jordon – the specifics of the Grundig charger is beyond my experience. I do know that in general, there are only a small number of specialized chargers that can handle recharging rechargeable Alkaline batteries. So it seems unlikely that you’d be able to charge Alkaline with this older model of charger.

On the other hand, it’s pretty common to find chargers that can charge both NiCd and NiMH batteries. Older chargers, however, did not have the “smart charger” features I describe above. You’ll possibly undercharge or overcharge NiMH batteries depending on which cutoff mechanism is used. This will lead to either worse performance or decreased longevity for the NiMH batteries. For this reason, you are much better off using a modern charger than the built in charger.